Announcer:

Are you ready for an open discussion with the best of the best and the best of what's next? Welcome to the Tony DUrso Show. Join in on a great conversation today with some of the world's great influencers as they showcase great advice and techniques that made them the game-changers they are today. Now here's Tony DUrso.

Tony:

Welcome. I'm your host Tony DUrso. I interview elite entrepreneurs and I thank you for joining us. This show is dedicated to helping you turn your vision into reality. Today, we're going to talk about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand. As you know, my interviews with the world's elite entrepreneurs are all about helping you launch your new business or take your business to the next level. Sometimes the penny drops with the right information for you to start something profitable yourself or help you do your job a whole lot better. Please help me get my show to those that need to hear this in the world. Please share and consider giving me a review. The easy way is to go to Apple podcasts or go to ratethispodcast.com/tony. Thanks for your kind review in advance. Today's show is about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand. Let's see what we can learn today. At the end of this interview, I'll give you a summary recap of what we went over, so stay tuned for that. Estie Rand built a six-figure business with zero dollars in ad-spend in under two years, with a fully virtual team (while raising five kids!). The founder and owner of Strand Consulting, an LA-based boutique consultancy, this marketing maven guides business owners ranging from freelancers to multi-millionaires on how to earn more money with less headache. Here we go. Hi Estie. Welcome to the Tony DUrso Show. So great to have you on with us once again. This is great. Thank you.

Estie:

I am so excited to be back, Tony.

Tony:

There's so much to tell us. There's so much. You've grown; you've done so much. You were just on a webinar today with over 500 people. You just never cease to amaze me. I want to learn all about it and as well as learn about six figures with no advertising. You've got some new stuff, but for my audience and everything, can we follow your journey to success and how did it all start for you, Estie? What's your backstory?

Estie:

Back in 2011, beginning of what is now so obviously a small business explosion, I was working as the CIO of a multinational nonprofit. Loved my boss, loved my job, and I had flex time, which was so important to me. I had three little kids at the time. I now have five and I would have stayed there forever doing the same thing, but they hired this toxic middle manager and he just made all our lives absolutely miserable. I don't remember crying so much as I did in those days. He took my trips. He took my staff. He basically said to me Estie, your team is my team and you're my new secretary. And I was like, Oh, I'm good at a lot of things, not being a secretary. So you know what? I'm the new leaving person. Bye. And I was terrified. Honestly, I was the sole supporter of our growing family and I had no idea where our money was going to come from. I just knew I couldn't stay, because I always have and I still believe that there is no money worth sacrificing your life. Making a living is in order to have a life, not to give it up. And so I left and I started looking for my next thing, but I was harboring this secret dream. I wanted to do small business consulting. I would just be sitting at an outdoor cafe and someone would be next to me like, you know what I mean? It was like two women. It'd be like, Oh my God, you're so talented. You should sell your cupcakes for a dollar each. It's going to be amazing. I'm like, Oh my God. Oh my God. Like really guys, I have a degree from business school. I've been running businesses profitably since I'm 10 years old. I can help you but I can't do that profile. I know nothing about consulting. I can't do that professionally. And so, I went visiting headhunters and I'm still keeping this dream but being realistic. I support a family. I have to get a job. And one of the head hunters I met was a former McKinsey consultant and I idolized her. I was like, Oh my gosh, you're my dream. You worked for McKinsey, one of the biggest names in business consulting on the planet and now you do head-hunting from your living room to I have balance. I love this. And during the interview, she asked me, Estie, what's the dream? I'm going to send you on this interview and this interview, and she did for C-level positions. She's like, but what's the real dream. What do you really want to do? I remember I was so excited. I was like, I'm going to confide in her and she is going to help me because she did this. She's going to tell me how I can do it. So, I tell her, you know, honestly my dream is to do small business consulting. I see all these people who have dreams, who have talents, who want to make a go of it and they don't know what they're doing, and I know that I can help them. And I'll never forget. She looked me straight in the eye and said, Estie, no one will take you seriously. No one will hire you. You need another 20 years C-level experience before anyone pays you for your advice.

Tony:

Oh, my goodness.

Estie:

Yeah. I was crushed. I was crushed. I still remember I went home that day. I remember I was standing by the window and sunlight was streaming in and tears just streaming down my face because she broke my dream. I had this dream, and as it was, I was feeling uncomfortable with it and unsure about it. And she's like, yeah, well, that was good because you're an idiot. That's not going to happen and I was so upset, but I am one of those people where, you know, almost to like prove her wrong. I was like, you know what? I'm going to do this. I don't look at, I had great support at the time. My husband at the time encouraged me, friends encouraged me. They said, she's big business, you're small business. She's old business, you're new business. You can do this. And so I started really, really slow. I just want you to know I was so unsure. I was so nervous. I needed to make a living. So, I took on three jobs. I worked for a global multinational marketing association. I did business brokerage, which was amazing cause I learned how to evaluate and buy and sell businesses. It was fantastic. And I tried to make a go of this little consulting thing and it went. I started getting client after client after client. I found that in the business brokerage, the part I loved most was the consultant. I'm like, wow, I'm giving them such great advice. I'm helping them with their businesses for free. Why am I doing that in order to sell it? Some of them kept their business. Like, Oh, if I do this, I'll save it. So it was just crazy times and it grew and grew and it grew and it took about 8 years. We're now 12 years later almost. And I built a full-service consulting firm that I wanted. We are multi-national. We have clients in 6 continents, staff in 7 times zones. We run a full 24-hour clock. We got to six figures profit with zero in ad spend in under two years, and we're now on track to do seven figures in profit with zero in ad spend. So this is what I believe and this is what I love. Everyone should be able to do what they love, earn buckets of money and have time for their life and family. And that is what we show people how to do in our company.

Tony:

Estie, we've seen where a person with their dream just gets totally flattened and that then sets them to accomplish it, no matter what. Is that kind of how I see it here, because you've had the door closed on you so hard? Is that what set the fire to your vision?

Estie:

I want to say yes, but I know it's not true. I know that that definitely gave me a little bit of like a prick and was like, you know, and as things were successful, I was like, I'm going to message her. I'm going to reach out and show her. But the truth is the fire inside me to serve was what really kept pushing me. I was like, I know I can do this. I know I can help these people. I know I can. Every bad ad that I'd see in the local weekly, and every additional conversation I would hear and every person I would talk to that was struggling after 2008 recession, every one of those, that's what pushed me. I was like, I know I can help you. And again, remember in those days it wasn't like now where everyone and their brother's dog walker is a business consultant. There weren't many people who worked with small and micro businesses. There really wasn't a thing and they weren't getting any help. And I was like, I know that you can be successful, and so what pushed me, I think was just the fire to serve, and that's what keeps pushing me every day still.

Tony:

Estie, tell me a little bit about this fire that just grew and grew to serve and to help others.

Estie:

So I've thought a lot about it myself over the years, because as the company has grown and pivoted, I've had to go back to that root source. And it's really that I just want to empower people. I want them to have the knowledge and the understanding what they need to do, and also know that they can. That's what drives me. I want them to live their dream. My dream was to live my dream helping other people live theirs, that they shouldn't be dependent on someone else giving them a job. I was a mom at the time and I was so concerned to be able to be a mom for my kids and earn the money and all the new jobs I was looking at were not giving me that balance. That's part of why I decided I had to do my own thing. You know, all the C-level positions I interviewed for, I needed that intellectual stimulation. I needed the money and I wasn't willing to give up the family. And my passion was to give other people that exact same thing that I wanted because I saw so many who needed it. And today more than ever, we cannot depend on someone else for our livelihood. The world is so volatile.

Tony:

Absolutely amazing, and it just comes through so strong, your purpose, your motivation, and I've seen the success over the years. We're talking about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand, and you can find her at estierand.com. I'm going to spell that. estierand.com

Tony:

This is the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Just ahead the chat continues about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand, but first it's time for us to take a short break. See you back here in just a moment.

Tony:

The average human drinks 92 Coca-Cola products a year. The average American drinks 403. Over the next century, Coke grew into a multinational multi-billion-dollar corporation. So, when Coca-Cola changed their recipe to what they called New Coke in 1985, the backlash was swift and severe, and the man who drove it, chairman Roberto Goizueta pulled New Coke from the shelves in a matter of months. Wondery's business movers explores how the reformulated New Coke disrupted Coca-Cola's public perception. The story of New Coke is often seen as a classic case study for how not to launch a product, and a cautionary tale of an out of touch executive who defied conventional wisdom and played a dangerous game with his company's signature product. The real story of New Coke is far more complex and more human. The story of Roberto Goizueta's improbable rise and his controversial decision to change the recipe for Coke starts decades before the launch of New Coke in the midst of a violent political revolution in Havana, Cuba. I just heard the show on Wondery. It comes off as a great informational story. I love how Lindsay Graham narrates the story. Really great job. He gives all the information. It's very well done. You've got to listen to it. I remember when the Coke fiasco hit the media, it was such a catastrophe for them. They didn't announce the name as New Coke, but rather a New Coke taste. I remember how upset the world was at large. This is a great story to listen and learn for all you entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, small businessmen, marketers, promoters. In fact, everyone should hear this to learn from it. What a great lesson! Listen to the newest season of Business Movers on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or listen ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. Wondery! Feel the story. Okay, guys, check it out and tell me how much you love the Wondery Business Movers podcast.

Announcer:

You're listening to the Tony DUrso Show with special VIP guests. Now back to Tony and his guest.

Tony:

All right. We're back on the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Today's show is about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand. At the end of this interview, I'll give you a summary of what I got out of this, and I'll share some pointers with you. Stay tuned for that. After a decade in non-profit, rising in the ranks to become CIO, Estie left her job to bring her skills of doing more with less to small business owners around the world. All right. And now back to the chat with Estie. Let's get into your vision path. I really understand a lot of what's happening and you've taken off with your coaching and your consulting and so forth. Can you tell us - what are some of the marketing fundamentals that work no matter what's going on in the world, especially the events of 2020, that's changed just about everything?

Estie:

Sure. So can I take it back to the most basic level that works no matter what's going on in the world, no matter who you are, no matter what you're selling, no matter who your audience is? Like the most basic?

Tony:

Yes, please. We're all ears. Tell us, tell us, tell us.

Estie:

All right, amazing. So, you've got to use your SWON strength to catch your bees. That's it! Just remember to use your SWON strength to catch your bees. Now I'm going to explain it. So SWON is SWON, and it stands for Speaking, Writing, One-on-one and Networking. You want to get out there and you don't have a budget and you want to sell things and you need money. You've got at least one of these core strengths. With the hundreds, probably almost thousands by now business owners that I've worked with over the last decade. plus, I have seen every single one has at least one of these strengths. And when you leverage that, you don't need to spend money to get off the ground and start growing. So as a speaker, you might give talks, give webinars. If there's nothing in person going on, you might get out there on different social media platforms and do videos or do stories or do lies. You're using your speaking talent to communicate what you do for people, what your business does, what your company does, what your product does. And if you are a writer, well, that's pretty obvious, right? Once again, you got magazines, you've got blogging. You've got again social media that you can leverage your writing talent more than you are on screen if you're a writer. Now one-on-ones get a bad rap because they're like, well, I'm not a speaker. I'm not a writer. I'm not good at either of those really. So one-on-ones though are people who have deep connections with others. They have soul connections. They have close connections. You leverage those connections because those people have audiences. Those people have contacts. And so you can leverage, look at your current circle of people, of friends, of acquaintances, of colleagues. Talk to them about what you're doing one-on-one. Take them out to coffee if you can. Do a video call, whatever it is, but tell them what you're getting off the ground. Tell them what you're working on and see where you can be of service to the people they know where they can help you get your message out. Every person, if they don't have one of the other three is a one-on-one. So if you're not sure which one you are and you're like, I don't think I'm the other ones, you're probably a one-on-one. Go have those conversations. And last of your SWON strengths is networking. We all know the networkers. They're out there. They're connecting, they're meeting, they're going, they're doing, and it's volume and it's the ability to communicate quickly. It's a salesy talent. Sometimes it's not even being salesy, but it's just meeting and talking to so many people and telling them what you do and tell them what you do, you get bites. So, you're using your SWON strength, but here is one of the master hacks using your SWON strength. It is don't try to start from scratch. Don't try to start from scratch. Leverage existing audiences. So, if you're a speaker, don't be like because you've got no one to talk to you. Be like, I'm doing a presentation. No one knows; no one hears you. I'm going to tell you something. I am going to let you in on a little secret. I don't tell a lot of people this, but in the very beginning, when I was just getting started and I was doing all those three jobs and see if I could make a go of this business consulting thing, I put an ad out in a local weekly, and I wrote, I'm doing this workshop and it's going to be amazing to help you grow your business. And I was positive that dozens of people were going to sign up because I saw all their ads in the weekly. And I was like, there's no way those ads are working. There's no way these people are earning money. I'm going to show them how; it's going to be amazing. And two people signed up, and to run a workshop for two people was just going to be pathetic. So, I called them both up, Hey, so sorry. We're going to have to postpone this cause no-one's coming. I'll let you know as soon as we get it running and someone cares. So, don't do what I did. Do what I did next, which was leverage existing non-profits, other people who had audiences and then share your wisdom with them. Speak for free because you earn money on the backend. Write for existing magazines, existing blogs. Don't try to just start a blog. No. Guys, it's 2021. No one is accidentally tripping over your brand-new blog. I hate to break to you. Do not start a blog and be like, it's going to make me a business. No, it won't. But if you're a writer, write for something where other people are going to see you. I was blown away when I wrote a piece for Entrepreneur. I got messages from Fortune 100 companies. I was like, all right, that's cool. So, leverage an existing audience. That's your SWON strength. Now you want to know what your bees are? I will tell you

Tony:

Your Bs, as in A B? Those are your As? Those are your A strengths?

Estie:

No. So your SWON strengths is you pick one of those four to leverage first. You can use multiple, but I like it to lean in on one first. I personally use speaking. That's how I got my business off the ground. It's how I continue to scale it. At this point within the company, we use more one-on-one business to scaling. You do it slightly different, but your Bs are your audience. They're the people you want to sell to. You want to know where they be at you. You want to reach your Bs - their body, eyes, and ears. So many people go out there and actually got a call from this guy, once I kid you not. I could not make these things up if they didn't happen in real life. This guy calls me up. He's says, Estie, I heard all about you, your marketing genius. I just need you to help me with social media, because if I just get social media to work, I know my business is going to take off. Now not a bad assumption; it's 2021. That's entirely possible. So I said, okay, tell me a little bit more. He said, well, I need to use Facebook so I need you to show me how to master Facebook, and what I do is continuing education for geriatrics.

Tony:

That is a niche. There is a market for it.

Estie:

There is a market for that, but I say to him, okay, so let's just break this down. The geriatric population you work with, are they living in assisted living facilities? Are you trying to reach their children to get grandpa in to learn more things, keep his mind sharp? And he's like, no, no. Estie, one of the things that is special about us is that we specifically target geriatrics who are living on their own, who are self-sustaining or able to care for themselves. I said, so let me get this straight. You're targeting the 70-plus population to get them into continuing education in live classes in person, and you want to hit Facebook? He's like, yeah. I'm like, no. I'm not even going to try that. You're so lucky you reached me and not some scam artist. You're going to make flyers and post them in the local eateries and community centers and going to send out postcards to their houses. They're not on Facebook. You got to go where your audience be at. Where are their bodies? Where are they physically? Get in front of them. Be there where they are. Once upon a time, we had trade shows. That was great. All right, it'll happen again. Be where they physically are. If they're part of charitable organizations, get involved. Be where they are, at their body. Be in front of where their eyes are. What are they reading? What social media platforms are they looking at? What kind of media are they consuming? You want to do outdoor media? Do they drive by there? Are they there? I cannot tell you; I cannot count how many people have come to me, having wasted money on marketing, and now up to the point where they're like, okay, now what do I do? I tried this. I tried that. Now what? And I'm like, you could have started here, you wouldn't have been stuck, but okay. And what they've done is they've put something out there, but it hasn't been in front of their Bees. It's not where their bodies are. It's not where their eyes are. It's not where their ears are. So, you want to use your SWON strength, get where they are. And the ears is not only what are they listening to like a podcast (hint, hint), but also who are they listening to? If you're a service-based business or even a product, sometimes you want to be referred. Yeah, we have a whole different conversation how to create viral word of mouth. That's something else altogether, but it is possible to do that strategically and not haphazardly. You want people to hear about you from the referral sources that they trust. So, get in their ears. Figure out who they're listening to and they're looking for what you do. You use your SWON strengths to reach your Bs in this way, I guarantee you business success because I've seen it work every time and never fail.

Tony:

Estie, these are amazing points for the entrepreneur and small business owner of today. And already I can tell, we can do most of that, may be all of it. Just have to think about it without spending any money on advertising.

Estie:

That's correct. That is exactly what I teach.

Tony:

Estie, how does this take us to six figures?

Estie:

So you kind of wash, rinse, repeat. Yeah, you have got to do some testing in the beginning, but once you own your SWON strength, you find your Bs, you get it to work once you do it again, and then you do it again and you track it using an ROI calculator. We have a funnel calculator. You have got to test and track and wash, rinse repeat. And there's not a single person that I've worked with over years that can't do this replicably once they put it into place. And so just imagine you're a service provider. You're working at $30 an hour, $50 an hour. Maybe you getting to $100 an hour, maybe it's $80. How many hours do you have to work already a month if you're generating business consistently to reach that six figures? It's not that much. Six figures is attainable by everyone. And the reason I love that number, the reason I celebrated it when I reached that, because to me, it's beyond the basic living wage for pretty much everyone in all developed countries as well. And so it's that time when you get to in your business, where you can rely on it, you can breathe easy. You're like, ah, maybe I'll be able to pay off some debts. Just master one strategy and let it go again and again and again until you get to that stable place and then you can grow from there.

Tony:

This is the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Just ahead the chat continues about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand, but first it's time for us to take a short break. See you back here in just a moment.

Tony:

Join us live for our after party of the Tony DUrso Show. This is your chance to talk about our show, our guests, ask questions and get any help you may need. This also gives me a chance to mention anything else about a guest that we didn't have time for, such as my last show with Jack Canfield. His books have sold more books than anything else in history, except for the Bible. There's definitely a lot to learn from him on marketing, promotion and writing a hot book. Now we have that chance. Join me live for our after party of the Tony DUrso Show at stereo.com/tdurso. This is the only place where I do live Q and A. Yes, live Q and A! You get to ask me anything live and I'll respond live. I love it. And it's free. Sign in at stereo.com/tdurso. Create your avatar and you should land on my channel. Otherwise just look up my stereo name tdurso. Now you get to be part of my shows. How cool is that? stereo.com/tdurso is a live social conversation app where you can be a cohost, part of the conversation or simply listen. And again, you can make live comments anytime. How cool is that? And you can ask me anything. Really! I'll answer questions about startups, taking your business to another level, hacking your day job, and a zillion other things I learned from today's elite entrepreneurs. At the end of this show that you're listening to right now, I give you some excerpts of what people are asking about. In last week's live show, I found out that you want to learn more about podcasting, how to grow it and how to monetize your podcast. I'm giving you tips on this week's live show on stereo. So please join us every Thursday and you can sign in now and listen to past episodes. Highly recommended! This is your chance to ask me directly - live. Listen at the end of this episode for the cool responses people had to my first show. Join me live on stereo.com/tdurso. Join me on Stereo and you'll see my schedule when you sign in. I look forward to having you there and sharing your comments and questions. All right, guys. Sign up and tell me how much you love it. stereo.com/tdurso

Announcer:

You're listening to the Tony DUrso Show with special VIP guests. Now back to Tony and his guest.

Tony:

All right, we're back on the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Today's show is about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand. At the end of this interview, I'll give you a summary of what I got out of this, and I'll share some pointers with you. Stay tuned for that. Estie is also the host of the acclaimed Business Breakthrough Podcast, and a featured contributor to Entrepreneur.com. And now back to the chat with Estie. And how does social media fit in all of this?

Estie:

Ah! Social media. Okay, blessing and curse, right? You even hear my tone change. I feel I have so many mixed emotions about social media. So, let me just start off with the fact that you got to understand that social media is a party. Par-tay!! Your website, that's your house, it's your story. You build it, you set it up. That's where people come to you. Social media - that's where you go to them. There's a party going on. Every platform is its own party and they're all different. So the first thing you got to know about social media, you've got to choose your party cause you can't be at all of them at the same time well, when you're just one person. So think about it. Facebook, I consider like a reunion because people connect to people they know, that they've met - your friends from high school, college, that conference you once attended, your old neighbor. Facebook even ran a campaign one time. Facebook is for friends. People are loathe to accept requests from other people on Facebook if they don't recognize them, never heard about them. And so it's like a reunion party. People talk about everything from the fungus on their toe to their jealousy of their neighbor, and to their ex's big vacation. It's like, Oh, okay. If that's your zone, amazing! You can generate tremendous business on it. Know if that's your zone. Instagram - coffee shop. Lots of light chatter, pretty pictures on the walls, primarily female. Look at what you see in a regular coffee shop. If you love real coffee shops, they'll probably love Instagram. LinkedIn - oh, that's my favorite. We hosted the third annual LinkedIn influencer summit back in mid-January, and it was epic. Epic! Thousands registered. It was just amazing. I love LinkedIn. I stabilized my business through LinkedIn a couple of years back, and it's a networking event. I can hang out at business networking events all day. You're talking business. People are open to connecting with strangers if they think there's value there. It's just a whole different zone. If you're in B2B or you like this kind of thing, that's your place. Twitter - street corner. YouTube - like television. Every different platform is like its own party. And so if you're going to enter social media, pick a party at first and stick to it and all of these people who try to sell you multi-platform strategies. Sorry, that was me spitting on them because not only are they always malicious, very often they just don't know what they don't know and they are typically a master of one platform as almost every social media person that's a freelancer or solopreneur that will come and try to help you out and say, which is your favorite. They'll always have a favorite, and that is always the one they will master the most. And if they get you on other platforms, it's never going to gain as much traction. And just imagine you're at this party and you send like a hologram of yourself or just a post-it note with your name on it to another platform. That's what it's like. So understand that it's a party. Now understanding that, being willing to get out there leveraging your strength means that you have the most incredible opportunity for free exposure in business, because imagine there are these parties going on 24/7 all over the world that you can walk into at any point and find your ideal audience to sell to and communicate with them. That's what social media is for business. Completely changed the landscape for small businesses. Big business is, struggling to catch up because what sells is you. Big businesses can't make it on social media like the individual. If you're here listening, you want to get to six figures and you don't want to spend money, social media is one path that will really work if you pick a platform and then you do the four. I'm going to give you the four, okay? You might want to take notes during this episode. It's not the SWON. No, I got more stuff. Oh my gosh. No, I've got so much stuff. No, you got to do the four. For social media, you have got to do the four and the four is you got to connect. You got to interact. You've got to share, if you will. And then you got to take it offline. So connect is you have got to meet people. Like any party, you have got to meet people. Meet the right people at this party. Then you have got to interact with them. Imagine you are at a real party. Talk to people. You come to social media and it's like - you know, I'm sure you do it, Tony as well and I'm sure everyone listening does. You're on a social media platform - if you're on any or every - and someone is DM-ing you, a total stranger. Hey, I help people do this and this and this, and I'm going to get you all these great deals. And you're like, I don't know who you are. I'm at this party and I'm talking to my friends and this guy walks over, opens up his coat, and he's like, you want to buy a watch? I'm like, No. Get away from me! I don't know what you want from me. I don't know who you are. So you got to interact with people at the party. And then you got to share; you got to add value. So you've got to be there, talking, being part of the groups and every platform is different. Facebook is groups, LinkedIn groups are garbage. So you got to learn the platform. Learn it from the experts. You got to share. Be there contributing if you want people to get to know you. KLT - people buy from people that they know like, and trust. Social media gives you that opportunity, so share and get to be known, liked and trusted. And lastly, you got to take it offline. No one closes deals inside the feed. They take it offline; they have a conversation. If you think you're going to pitch them online, Hey, buy my stuff. No one's buying your stuff because you sent them a message. They're just not. Talk to people, take it to a conversation, take it to a direct interaction. Those are your four. And then social media is your best friend, but you don't need to be overwhelmed. I don't need you everywhere. In fact, I don't want you everywhere. Why don't you pick your favorite party and go maximize that? So much easier. I don't want you to spend hours a day on it. Spend 15 minutes. Spend 30. We have a program called the LinkedIn 15. 15 minutes a day, that's enough. So it does not have to be scary. It doesn't have to be a big deal. You can do it even with a small amount of time and you can do it even with a small amount of resources when you do it right.

Tony:

Last year, I focused more on LinkedIn myself and I kind of pushed back on some of the other social media because it's social media. How are you? Here's a picture of my dog. It's a nice picture of the sunset. Talk about bike riding or whatever. It's all very nice and social and very friendly and it has its place, but it's not necessarily the place for me for business. LinkedIn is a whole different thing. Once I started focusing on LinkedIn, it just changed and those points I believe I totally got in and I would like to speak with you more about them. But yeah, everyone there is willing to hear about your business and they connect with you because they think that there's a fit or something that you can mutually do. It's amazing that I haven't discovered LinkedIn before.

Estie:

Totally. It's like this secret, most amazing social media platform that so many people. It's just the most overlooked best resource.

Tony:

Yes. And I didn't know this before when we had you on a few years ago. You're the LinkedIn queen, is that so?

Estie:

Sort of. People call me that. I am very heavy on LinkedIn. I do co-host LinkedIn Influencer Summit each year. I went out to speak at LinkedIn Global last year when we still did live things. And I love it. I love LinkedIn. I talk all about it all the time. I talk about hacking the algorithm, how to master it. One of our most profitable products, if you will, is a course on learning LinkedIn, the LinkedIn 15. It's only 15 minutes a day. We teach you over 15 days how to master everything from your profile to interacting with it, to taking it offline. I love it because it was so kind to me because about, I think it's like almost four years ago now, I had been unwell for about six months and I couldn't work and I had staff and overhead in my office at that point. And I remember coming back when I finally recovered and I'm back in the office and there was nothing on my calendar. And I was like, ah, I'm toast now. All right, what am I going to do today? I'm like, you know what? Why don't I check out LinkedIn? Let me see. Let me see what's going on. LinkedIn was just starting to take off as a real interactive platform, and it stabilized and grew my business to stable six figures in profit. I was like, okay, we're friends now. And that's why I'm so passionate about sharing it, about teaching it. The Influencer Summit we host each year is a free summit. We get thousands of registrants and yeah, just get very effusive about it because so many people like, Oh, it has to be be Facebook. Oh, it's got Instagram. And then they complain. They're like, I don't like Instagram. I don't like Twitter. I don't like Facebook. I want something more intellectual. I want something where people are more open. I want to hear people talk about business more. Hi, that's what LinkedIn is. They're like, isn't LinkedIn for resumes? No, that too, but you can also use it this way and it's just unbelievable when you figure it out.

Tony:

So true. I absolutely love LinkedIn and I can't say enough about it. It's the place for the small business owner and the entrepreneur to really focus in. And what's this 15 minute a day? Is this a challenge? Is this if you just do that, you grow? Tell me more.

Estie:

We originally had a program called LinkedIn 30/30, which is 30 minutes a day for 30 days to turn your connections into clients. And we were running that for I think over two years. And then listen, you know what? Social media is like dog years, right? Anything that you build two years ago got to be redone. The whole thing changed. And so what I realized over time from working on my own, from working with my clients, is people don't need to spend 30 minutes a day. They could do it in 15. I saw that they could do it so we redid the program. We distilled it, we made it more condensed, and so in 15 days, people can learn everything they need to know. 15 minutes a day, not just learning it - they are micro trainings; they are just a couple of minutes each - actually implementing it within those 15 minutes because people are busy, busier now than ever. I'm a mom. I told you I have five kids, and during COVID, you know what? They were home a lot and trying to balance that and grow my business, and some people are trying to get a side hustle going while they have a full-time job, while they're home. Maybe they're dealing with illness, dealing with ... Oh my gosh. And so it's 15 minutes day and then ongoing strategies we give you. Even if you only give it 15 minutes a day, you can generate real business and turn those connections into clients. That's the path that we carve for you.

Tony:

And that's something that's available to the entrepreneur, small business owner now? If they go to estierand.com, can they see this program that you have - the 15 minutes a day LinkedIn program or whatever you have?

Estie:

Yes. Go to estierand.com, click on programs and it'll just be right there.

Tony:

Programs that work for you, the most affordable and comprehensive business education and guidance you will find anywhere, and folks, believe me, I know Estie well enough to know that this is the stuff. She even has a boot camp, which is really cool. Estie, absolutely love it and you've done so much. You've grown so much, and I've said this before. I'm really amazed at what you're doing and where you've been. And I'm wondering, can you paint us a picture of what the future looks like, especially with the changes that we have, societal, with social media, as well as perhaps what you're doing? What do you think the next few years will hold for us?

Estie:

So I think that we're going to see a lot more online, and again, we already are. I look at it as like... I was living in New York, actually going to school in Manhattan on 9/11 and I still remember, I went into the city a couple of days after the towers fell and it was like dead land. You know, I flew maybe a few months later and it was like crickets in the airport. And I remember people saying, no one's ever going to fly again. No one's ever going to go work in Manhattan again, and they do but we still have TSA. There are still certain changes that were made in the world, and I think we're going to see on the back of everything that's happened in 2020, it's not going to be the same as it was throughout the pandemic, but certain changes are going to last. And I think that the migration to more people being able to work from home, work virtually, more people trying to create a work-life balance. So many people who are on the road so much now had time with their families, time to themselves and they love it. And people starting their own thing, finding their passions, because either they got let go of, or they got demoted or part-time. I think we're going to see ... I'm seeing already an even bigger explosion in small and micro businesses. Good for me and my industry, but good for all of you who are starting to do more things that you love, or becoming more independent, more empowered to earn the money without being dependent on someone. I think we're going to see more and more of that. The technology gets better every five seconds. Every month things double in speed. Every six months, the old stuff is almost unrecognizable. What you can do now with a set of home-based equipment for a hundred dollars would have cost you thousands two years ago. So everything is moving toward us being able to work more virtually, do more of what we love and reach people all over the world who we can serve. And at the same time, we are more and more competing with the global marketplace. Every restaurant is now competing with everyone else all over, including globally, because suddenly that restaurant is competing with that recipe blogger. The person who was going to order takeout and Googles the takeout at the restaurant and is like, you know, broccoli stir fry, sees a recipe and they're like, Oh, you know what? Maybe I'll make it myself. It's not only the restaurant that is competing globally. Like, what is going on? So the competition is different and how you promote and how you get out there is going to have to change as well and already is

Tony:

This is the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Just ahead the chat continues about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand, but first it's time for us to take a short break. See you back here in just a moment.

Tony:

Do you want a lot of people checking out your sales page, your branding page, your podcast? Like most people, are you just trying to do it all yourself? Are you taking webinars, seminars, and workshops to learn how to grow your social media and how-to bring visitors to your site? Are you downloading free eBooks, buying books, buying classes, doing this and doing that just to learn how to get more sales, more people, more exposure? We all do, but it isn't all that it's cracked up to be for some, is it? It is a lot of work. It is a lot of effort. It takes a lot of training. I spent years doing these activities to learn the latest and greatest because things change constantly. Imagine how you would feel if you had thousands and thousands of consumers coming in each week. Yes, each week and checking out what you have, including downloading your podcasts, watching your videos, checking out your webinars, reading your material. Really! Imagine that! Would that be nice? I do understand completely, believe me. It is a lot of work. Most people can't do it all. The learning curve is too steep. You need help to get her done. My roots are lead generation and marketing, and I have cut through the chase to get a sizable audience. I learned from some of the best. Read up and learn more about this at Tonydurso.com/clicks. What do I do for you? It's simple. I will get you thousands and thousands of real people visitors each week. If you have a podcast, you can get thousands of listeners weekly. Yep, thousands. I've done this for others. Check out Tonydurso.com/clicks, and let me help you get a tremendous amount of exposure to your webpage or your podcast. That's Tonydurso.com/clicks. Look it over and let me help your business grow.

Announcer:

You're listening to the Tony DUrso Show with special VIP guests. Now back to Tony and his guest.

Tony:

All right, we're back on the Tony DUrso Show where you can learn from the wisdom and success of others to help you move on your vision path. Today's show is about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand. At the end of this interview, I'll give you a summary of what I got out of this, and I'll share some pointers with you. Stay tuned for that. Estie is also co-founder and co-host of the annual LinkedIn influencer summit established in 2019 and co-founder of LinkedIn, local LA. And now back to the chat with Estie.

Tony:

So true, and I think more and more people are loving working at home, especially when they get into the niche and get something going successfully. It just doesn't seem to beat anything else, aside from going out though because I really do miss groups and trade shows and big networking events. I don't know what the future's going to hold for that, but it sure is nice and comforting to be at home because you can take care of all the things and I think there's more time for family and hanging out and bonding and I think it's very healthy.

Estie:

Yeah. I think a lot of people have upgraded their quality of life, honestly. Again, there's been a lot of suffering. There's been a lot of challenges for so many, but overall, those who have been able to pivot, to focus on the positives, to keep themselves going, to keep moving forward as everything's changing, overwhelmingly, I hear so many people saying, wow, my quality of life is so much better. I relax more. I sleep better. I see my family more. I take some breaks and the people who managed to get rid of their commutes, Oh my God! I mean, I live in LA. You know, so for the people who are traveling one, two hours a day, sometimes three, they got a huge chunk of their life back. So it's your SWON strengths to reach your Bees.

Tony:

To reach your Bees.

Estie:

BEE. So it's your SWON strengths - Speaking, Writing, One-on-one and Networking. So find your SWON strength and go and reach out your bees where your audience be at, get where their bodies are. Get in front of their eyeballs, get into their ears, let them know about you. Now it's important. You have to have the right kind of offer. You have to position yourself. There's a lot of moving parts in here. We don't have enough hours for me to give you all of it, but understand that this is a way for you to leverage and promote without costs, once you know what you're promoting and you have that thing set up.

Tony:

Absolutely love it. And Estie, we're always on the lookout for what brings success, what helps us with success, what helps us with our business and taking things to the next level. Can you share any personal habits that you have that you believe contribute to your vision success?

Estie:

Totally. I'm very organized. I'm very orderly and specifically in my time. Actually, when COVID hit, I created a planner for myself. We will be turning this into an offer for our audience very shortly. And I created what I call a one-page planner. Before that, I always use paper planners and online, and I did all these different things, but what helps me be successful is I actually plan my days in advance. You know, a lot of people are very ... and I'm not saying there won't be things that come up and you actually plan to deal with the fact that things will come up, but when you plan it it's possible and when you schedule it, it's reality. And so actually working with the amount of time you have as realistically as you can makes a huge difference, and this is a quote I got from Tony Robbins. I think he's fantastic. People overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in ten. And we get overwhelmed. We want to be successful, especially if you're doing something, you're passionate about, or you are struggling financially, you need the money and you need it now. We feel like we have to do it all yesterday. And that is not the path to success. That overwhelm clouds your brain. You make mistakes. You got to take it one day at a time. Each day, what step are you going to take? Each day, how are you going to move the needle forward? And for me, I think one of the things that helps me be successful is I look at each day as almost an independent entity. What's today? What's happening today? And what does that make this week? And what's happening this month and really keeping that forward focus, but organizing it, locking it down and guys, be realistic cause when you start writing it down. You know, one of the things I' put on the one-page planner, I call it the top six. What the top six things I want to do today? And I'm going to be honest. Some days I only write four and I get to three because sometimes the top things you have to do are that big and that's okay, but don't overwhelm yourself cause you're going to constantly feel like a failure. Oh no! I have a top 12. Yeah, but you're not going to get to all 12. I got a 4D 4 dots. I have so many systems I've built over the years for myself, my clients, all in real time. Find an assistant. You don't have to build it yourself. Find one that works for somebody else. There are so many things out there. Get something that works, but be strategic about it. Be strategic about your time because the only thing we get when we're born is time and sunlight. Everything else is optional.

Tony:

You know, you can look at it from this way. All we have is nothing but time. I mean, we have all the time we want. Time can actually be created. We could just keep going. It's just being wise with our time now to do the things that matter so that we can all survive and take care of our families, etcetera, et cetera.

Estie:

Totally. And you know what? If you're short on time ... listen, when I started my business, I was still working full time. I started coaching before I went into the consulting. Before I launched the business consulting, I had taken a coaching course and I figured I'd have this little side gig where I just coached people. Oh my gosh, I wasn't even doing business coaching at that time. I was doing like financial and organizational. I was organizing people's kids’ clothes - don't ask - it's like a whole different entity. But carve out little bits of time. If you don't have a lot of time, no problem. Like I said, 15 minutes a day for LinkedIn. An hour a day, an hour a week, every little bit, but carve it out. Lock it down and then really do it because then things move. So it doesn't matter if you have an abundance of time or a dearth of time, either one is fine. As long as you commit to some amounts of time to go and reach your goal, and you're going to watch time open up for you because we never run out of now. And if you always spend the year now in a way that's in alignment with your goals, you're going to get there, I promise you and I don't promise lightly. You will get there.

Tony:

You always have now. And so just carve it out, schedule it out and just stick with your schedule as best as possible and you'll be able to accomplish so much more. Absolutely agree. Once again, we talked about making six figures with no advertising with Estie Rand and you can find her at estierand.com. Estie, you blew me away with so much information and knowledge and yes, I'm going to listen to this again and write it all down. Thank you so much for sharing. We really appreciate it.

Estie:

Such a pleasure and honor to be on the show and share with all of you and guys, I'm really hard to lose online. You can find me, you can find my podcast on all podcast platforms, website, social media, especially LinkedIn. Reach out to me. I answer all my stuff.

Tony:

Hello entrepreneurs. Thanks for hanging out with me while I featured an elite entrepreneur who took her vision to reality. I'm sure this was as inspiring for you as it was for me to do this interview. We learned some great points about making six figures with no advertising from Estie Rand. I love it. What gumption to quit a cushy job when you have three little ones to take care of! Right from the bat, while I couldn't stop laughing during most of this very entertaining interview, you can tell that Estie is a very no-nonsense person and dedicated to get things done, no matter what it takes. She says there is no money worth sacrificing your life. You make a living to have a life, not give it up. What a statement! Have you ever walked away from something for the same reason? Sometimes an event like this, the new manager who's a terror to all the employees is what we need to start fresh in a better way. I've been through that before and while it hurts and it's rough at the beginning, when you look back, it's amazing at how much better things become afterwards. It may hurt to start again at zero, but when you're on the right road to do what you're good at, it's soon forgotten and it becomes a funny memory. And she took on three jobs. Amazing! She sticks to her dream nonetheless, and starts working on that while she earns the living to help take care of her family. Impressive determination. It took her eight years, but she did it and she grew it huge, and she made it to six figures with zero in ad spend in under two years. And now on a track to seven figures, profit, and again, with a zero in ad spend. The fire to serve ia what kept her going. That means she really zoned into her purpose, and once you're on a strong purpose, nothing literally can stop you. Nothing! Here's the big golden nugget. You've got to develop your SWON strength to catch your Bees. SWON is Speaking, Writing, One-on-one and Networking. You are strong in at least one of the four items right now. By leveraging that, you can get off the ground and start growing. I really suggest you go back to this and listen again to all these points and how any one of them can launch your business. For example, if you're good at speaking, you can give talks, give webinars, get on social media and tell stories, videos or lives or podcasting. All of these leverages your speaking talent to communicate what you do for people. And so it goes through the rest of the letters in SWON. Again, this is really very impressive. Estie boils it down to super simplification and it works. And remember, don't try to start from scratch. Leverage existing audiences. There are so many more points. So just remember just master one strategy and grow from there. There's so much more I got out of this interview. What did you get? I'd love to know how you use this information to help you in your business or career. Did this interview give you any ideas for your business? Did it stimulate you to take some new action? Please share and grab hold of your vision. Decide you're going to either start something great or take it to the next level. You have to decide first. It always starts with a decision and you can get my Vision Map to help you along the process. The eBook is at tonydurso.com/books. . I created my empire in just a few years. I had the Vision Map as my guide. You could do it too. Let's help you move on your journey to success. And once again, please consider supporting the show with a nice review. Just go to ratethispodcast.com/tony. Thanks guys, and remember: just take action. Success awaits those who persevere and remain steadfast despite the odds. Sow good seeds, do good deeds and join me on the next episode of the Tony DUrso Show.

Tony:

Hey guys, this is Tony again for a quick word on Stereo. The live conversation at our first show on Stereo was a hit, with a ton of people listening and providing great comments and questions. I am speaking directly with anyone who has any question about startups, podcasting, growing a business, hacking your day job, marketing branding, and all sorts of cool things. I want you to join us live every Thursday at 3:00 PM Pacific, but you should also get the app now and check out prior episodes. We are in the moment and having a blast, lots of laughs. It's live and it's so cool. Go to stereo.com/tdurso and join now and set your calendar for my live shows at 3:00 PM Pacific. If you miss it. no worries. The past live shows are right there too. And here's a few snippets to give you the feel of how easy it is to ask me anything. Comment 1: Star burns Audio, Jason Smith. T DUrso. Mr. DUrso, listen, I love this. Just keep talking. I love that you're doing a show. Love listening. Glad you're here. All right. That's all I got. Continue on please.

Tony:

And here's another great comment. Comment 2: Yes. I strongly agree with you, tdurso. We are rare gems and we are one of a kind. I strongly agree with you on that. And yes, let's find out what we're great at. You know, what we're amazing at because we all have gifts, right? Each and every one of us has a gift. So I'm actually on that journey now. And thank you for the knowledge and the advice that you're sharing with us as well as the other gentleman, Star burns Audio. Thank you. Thank you for dropping knowledge and gems to the people. I hope you all are doing well. And so are your loved ones and everyone listening as well.

Tony:

And here's another conversation. Comment 3: What are your most valuable interview tips?

Tony:

And here's another one.

Comment 4: I

just want to say thank you so much. I'm out on the streets, but this was some knowledge getting brought to us and I appreciate it. I am a diamond. That's what I'm talking about.

Tony:

Cool stuff, huh? So join me guys for the Tony DUrso Show after-party and ask me anything. This is your chance to speak with me and be part of my show. How cool is that? All right. See you at stereo.com/tdurso. Stereo is stereo.com/tdurso. All right guys. See you there.

Announcer:

We hope you've enjoyed this week's edition of the Tony DUrso Show with his key influencers. Be sure to tune in again next Friday at 5:00 PM Eastern time, 2:00 PM. Pacific time on the Voice America Influencers channel.